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Oakland County advises vaccines, masks, social distancing in flu season during pandemic

Oakland County Health Division urges vaccinations after rise in flu cases
Posted at 1:07 PM, Sep 22, 2021
and last updated 2021-09-22 13:10:04-04

(WXYZ) — As we enter fall season, the Oakland County Health Division is advising all residents to protect themselves against flu season by getting both the COVID-19 and flu vaccines.

New cases of COVID-19 continue to rise, especially among school-age and college-age residents.

According to the Oakland Health Department, more than two out of five new cases from Sept. 6-19 were ages 29 years and younger.

One in four new cases were 18 years and younger, up from one in five last week.

“The risk of death from COVID-19 is more than triple that of seasonal flu. In fact, your risk of death from COVID-19 more than doubles in people who have the flu,” Oakland County Health Division Medical Director Dr. Russell Faust said. “So, get vaccinated for both this flu season and take the common-sense measures that limited the number of flu cases last season.”

The Health Department is also advising the public to wear masks and social distance as the risk of serious illness or death from COVID-19 is higher if one has the flu at the same time.

The Oakland County Health Division continues to hold daily COVID-19 vaccine clinics from 9:00 a.m. – 4:30 p.m. at both its North Oakland Health Center in Pontiac and South Oakland Health Center in Southfield in addition to pop-up clinics in the community.

Click here to locate the nearest Health Division vaccine clinic.

Those who do not have access to the Internet may call the Nurse on Call at 800-848-5533 Monday through Friday, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. for more information.

Oakland County Health Division expects to begin offering the flu vaccine sometime in October. In the meantime, flu vaccines may be available at pharmacies and healthcare providers.